I remember reading somewhere that someone's way of knitting or crocheting with beads was to pre-string a fine thread with beads, one so fine that it didn't change the gauge of the work, and work that along with the main yarn. Then when they wanted a bead, they just pulled one up from that fine thread. Has anyone done it like this? Is there a special type of thread one uses, or is it just sewing thread in a matching color?

And one question I've wondered about for a while regarding the pre-stringing method. What happens when there's a knot and you have to cut that knot out? Do you have to string on all the beads again?!

I've knitted with beads, and I've found that it's hard to find a needle that is thin enough for the beads but with an eye big enough for the yarn. I read somewhere that you can use nail polish to form the end of the yarn into a point and just thread the beads onto the yarn that way, without a needle. It works like a charm!

If you get to a knot in the yarn, just slide the beads down as far as you can, break the yarn, and re-join past the part of the knot. You won't have to re-string.

http://fluffyknitterdeb.blogspot.com/2005/08/by-special-request-beading-made-easy.html

Here's a beading technique with no stringing involved, I think Julie had posted this earlier!

I've been working on Perdita (http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTperdita.html) from Knitty, and I found that either a needle threader or a dental floss threader [UNUSED] works well to string beads onto the yarn. Of course, Perdita is made with size 5 embroidery cotton, so it's not terribly hard to string the beads.

Thanks for all the advice. Nail polish, got it, dental floss threader, got it.

So then, does this mean that no one knows the particular method I was talking about?